Today In Irish History

May 3: TODAY in Irish History:

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Thomas Clarke 1916

Snippets of Irish History by Conor Cunneen IrishmanSpeaks 

Conor is a Chicago based Motivational Humorous Business Speaker, Author and History buff.

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1903: Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby (1977) is born to second generation Irish American mother in Tacoma, Washington.

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SEE: Bing Crosby sing Galway Bay at Dublin Airport

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READ: Excerpt from  Bing Crosby:  A Pocketful of Dreams

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1916: Execution of Rebel Leaders

First of the 1916 rebels are executed after being found guilty of taking part “in an armed rebellion . . . for the purposes of assisting the enemy.” That they were involved in armed rebellion is beyond doubt, but the primary purpose of the Rising was in support of the declaration of “the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland” as stated in the Proclamation which Padraic Pearse read in front of the GPO on April 24.

Executed on this day were:

Thomas James Clarke who fought in the GPO.

Tom Clarke

A number of the 1916 leaders were not Irish born. Most notably De Valera (United States) and Clarke who was born the Isle of Wight in 1857.  Clarke’s father served in the British army. While in American, Clarke joined Clann na nGael. In 1883, he was sentenced to fifteen years of penal servitude for his role in a bombing campaign in London. Clarke was the first signatory of the Proclamation of Independence through deference to his seniority, Clarke was with the group that occupied the G. P. O.

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Thomas MacDonagh. The Tipperary born McDonagh was a teacher and founder of St. Enda’s (Coláiste Éanna )School with Patrick Pearse. A creative mind, his play When the Dawn is Come was produced at the Abbey theatre. He was commander of the Second Battalion of Volunteers that occupied Jacob’s biscuit factory and surrounding houses during the Rising.

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Patrick Pearse: Dublin born(1879) Pearse graduated from the Royal University in 1901 with a degree in Arts and Law. A strong believer in education he founded two schools, Coláiste Éanna and Coláiste Íde, where teaching was through the Irish language.  Pearse was a founder member of the Irish Volunteers, and the primary author of the Proclamation of Independence. During the Rising, he fought in the GPO and was Commander in Chief of the rebel forces

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READ: Royal Commission on the Rebellion in Ireland 1916

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1927: Ernest Ball – When Irish Eyes are Smiling

Ernest Ball (b 1878), composer of the music for  When Irish Eyes are Smiling and Mother Machree dies. Although not Irish, his songs were hugely successful at the time and still bring a tear to many an emotional Irish heart. John McCormack’s recording of Mother Machree reached #1 on the Billboard charts in 1911. He wrote When Irish Eyes are Smiling in 1912 and a recording of the song by Chauncey Olcott reached #1 on Billboard charts the following year.

Ball’s other compositions included A Little Bit of Heaven. For more information See Songwriters Hall of Fame.

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Want to learn more about Ireland? See these images and more in the acclaimed For the Love of Being Irish

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This history is written by Irish author, business keynote speaker and award winning humorist IrishmanSpeaks – Conor Cunneen. If you spot any inaccuracies or wish to make a comment, please don’t hesitate to contact us via the comment button.

Visit Conor’s YouTube channel IrishmanSpeaks to Laugh and Learn.

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